Tottenham full-back Danny Rose has revealed that Arsenal’s reaction to their north London win earlier this month motivated his side get get revenge in the Carabao Cup last night.
The Gunners ran out 4-2 winners over Mauricio Pochettino’s side at the beginning of December and were vocal in their humiliation of Spurs on social media in the aftermath.
Speaking after Wednesday night’s 2-0 reversal at the Emirates, the 28-year-old England international suggested that Arsenal’s reaction acted as a catalyst for him and his teammates.
As quoted in the Evening Standard, he said: “We were fully relishing the opportunity.
“Our only motivation was remembering the nonsense that Arsenal posted after the game a few weeks ago. That was our motivation.
“Players that have only played 10 games for Arsenal were getting ahead of themselves. We used that in a positive way.
“It’s karma. They fully deserve what they got.
“We had the motivation of getting to the semi-final, so we’re over the moon. But the cherry on top was silencing them after remembering how they celebrated like they had won the league.
“We’ve put that result right. We’ll see where they are come the end of the season and we’ll see where we are.”
OPINION
It’s rare to hear a player speak with as much candidness as Danny Rose did following Wednesday night’s win over Arsenal, and it really brings home just how much the rivalry between the two north London sides means to both of them. The Gunners did go all out on social media after the match at the beginning of December, but it’s a fine line as to what counts as too far these days, especially with rise of things like Twitter and the constant search for content that can drive traffic. In some respects it feels as if anything is fair game, and it’s hard to say whether or not Spurs would have done the same had they come away with all three points when the sides met in the league. Rose’s comments show just how sweetly that would have been met, and mockery is part and parcel of the modern game. That being said, there’s nothing wrong with using that rile up a team, and Spurs will take all the online hidings under the sun if it means they can experience nights like Wednesday regularly.